Photo Essays

10 mind-blowing stats for Week 15 in the NFL

The NFL Network research team provided NFL.com with hundreds of Week 15 stats. We picked out 10 that blew our minds.

9 Photos Total

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Patrick Semansky/Associated Press

RG3 rates among the elite

Washington Redskins QB Robert Griffin III is tied for the NFL lead in passer rating (104.2). RG3 can become the first rookie quarterback since Greg Cook did so for the Cincinnati Bengals in 1969 (88.3 rating).

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Associated Press

Cardinals throwing pick-six party

Arizona Cardinals quarterbacks have not thrown a touchdown pass in the last four games. Instead in that timeframe, Cardinals quarterbacks have thrown three interceptions that have been returned for touchdowns.

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Tony Avelar/Associated Press

A team's worth of production

San Francisco 49ers linebacker Aldon Smith has as many sacks in the last six games (14) as the Jacksonville Jaguars have all season. Smith -- who has 19.5 sacks on the season -- is three sacks away from tying Michael Strahan's record mark of 22.5 set in 2001.

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Tom DiPace/Associated Press

Megatron2K

Detroit Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson has 120 receptions for 2,106 yards in his last 16 games. The 2,106 receiving yards are the most over any 16-game stretch since 1960. Johnson is currently 302 yards short of Jerry Rice's single-season record of 1,848 receiving yards set in 1995.

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Aaron M. Sprecher/Associated Press

Air-and-ground threat

Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton is the first player in NFL history with 30-plus passing touchdowns (37) and 20-plus rushing touchdowns (21) in his first two seasons. Newton currently leads the Panthers in rushing with 640 yards, and could become just the third different quarterback to lead his team in rushing since 1970 (Randall Cunningham, Eagles from 1987-90; Bobby Douglass, Bears in 1972).

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Rich Addicks/Associated Press

Mattural born killers

Matt Ryan can do a lot to silence the critics who suggest that the Atlanta Falcons are not capable of making a run to Super Bowl XLVII. While Matt Ryan is 32-4 in home games in his career, he is a winless 0-2 at home against defending Super Bowl champions. Ryan's Atlanta Falcons face the New York Giants at the Georgia Dome in Week 15.

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Associated Press

Validating Peterson's value

Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson averages more yards per rushing attempt (6.04) than Christian Ponder averages per pass attempt (5.99). This phenomenon has only happened five times since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970, and only twice when the team's leading player in yards per rushing attempt was a running back (Washington Redskins' Reggie Brooks in 1993, Buffalo Bills' O.J. Simpson in 1973).

Peterson has more rushing yards in the last seven games (1,101) than the Jacksonville Jaguars (1,068), Oakland Raiders (1,055), Dallas Cowboys (1,038) and Arizona Cardinals (1,021) have as a team this season. It should also be noted that this is the second time the Jaguars have appeared in the "10 mind-blowing stats" list for a reason they would probably rather not.

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Geoff Burke/US Presswire

Rare Ravens feat: A losing streak

The Baltimore Ravens have lost back-to-back games in the regular season for the first time since the 2009 season. They went 54 straight games without suffering a two-game losing streak.

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NFL/Associated Press

Patriots' point made

The New England Patriots have scored more points in their last five games (210) than the Arizona Cardinals (186) and Kansas City Chiefs (195) have scored all season.

The Patriots have scored 284 points in their last seven games. That is more than 13 NFL teams have scored in the entire season.

In their last two home games, the Patriots have outscored their opponents 101-38. Both teams that the Patriots beat -- the Indianapolis Colts and Houston Texans -- are currently in line to make the playoffs.